KNBR conversation with Kevin Nealon

Updated 4:01 pm, Saturday, July 29, 2017

An edited transcript of an interview with comedian and former Saturday Night Live cast member Kevin Nealon.

Q: Well we saw you from a distance last week up in Tahoe, and you play up there regularly. Tell the audience who you were playing up there with, big names.

A: It’s a tournament called the American Century Championship, and I’ve been doing it for the last 17 years. I’m not a good golfer, so they pair me with people who are a similar talent. So one day they pair me with (Charles) Barkley, another day it was Ray Romano, and another day (actor) Dennis Haysbert. But it’s always been fun. I remember golfing with Barkley once, and we get onto the green and somebody heckled him from the stands, and he hates hecklers. He picked up his golf ball off the green and he was about to throw it, and he goes, “I’ll hit you with this.” And the heckler yelled back, “Not if you aim.”

Q: We talked to Romano about this at Pebble Beach. You’ve gotta have material for almost every hole because these guys are expecting you to, or are they?

A: People are there to watch everybody. I used to get really nervous because it’s on camera, and people think because you’re on camera you’re good. You go to tee off and they’re all leaning in, and I have to tell them ‘I’m not a good golfer, I could hit you.’ It took me, like, six years to get over, and then a friend of mine told me don’t worry about it. If you’re a bad golfer, people will like you because they’ll think they’re better than you. And if you’re a good golfer, they love you. You can’t lose.

Q: You ever get the yips, Kevin?

Photo: Jeff Gross, Getty Images

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Kevin Nealon hits a tee shot at the Bob Hope Classic at the Silver Rock Resort in La Quinta (Riverside County) in 2010.

Kevin Nealon hits a tee shot at the Bob Hope Classic at the Silver Rock Resort in La Quinta (Riverside County) in 2010.

Photo: Jeff Gross, Getty Images

KNBR conversation with Kevin Nealon

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A: I’ve had them before, sure. Mostly when I was dating.

Q: Those are the personal yips.

A: You get within five feet of me and it’s all over.

Q: So when you’re on stage and you get heckled, do you have go-to responses or does it depend?

A: I’ll be honest, I don’t really get heckled. I don’t really have the kind of act that attracted heckling.

Q: Now, what kind of act attracts hecklers? Is it more profane guys?

A: It’s those guys that leave things more wide open. They’ve got those windows in their act that are more abrasive. Mine is just more conversational, it sneaks up on you. You don’t get the last joke until you’re on to the next one.

Q: Kevin, I’ve gotta tell you, we’ve been to Fenway Park, Wrigley Field, Lambeau Field, but being on those SNL floorboards, the ghosts. We felt the presence. It was incredible.

A: Yeah, I feel very fortunate. A lot of people ask me how I got on Saturday Night Live. Dana Carvey recommended me. He didn’t get me on, but he recommended me, so they flew me in for an audition.

Q: Did you ever feel that? The ghosts of that place are palpable.

A: When I first got on that show, there was so much anxiety about being on that stage you didn’t feel like you belonged there, the head games you played with yourself to get through it. So I was nervous and trying to remember my lines. I’m standing there, (SNL creator) Lorne Michaels is right next to me, we’re coming back from commercial and he puts his hand on my shoulder and says “Are you sure this is what you want?” It was funny, and it took a little of the pressure off.